It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post a blog about the recurring, “Nieces and Nephews Weekend Loaner Program.”

What it’s all about, essentially, is alone time for their parents and free-style “fun spoiling their children” for us.

Rebekah, of course, always has “projects” for the kids to do. And the funny thing is that anything normally considered a chore at home is all-of-a-sudden “fun” when it happens at Maul Hall.

REBUILD: This weekend it’s been “Let’s dismantle, sand, clean, stain, seal, and reassemble the wooden patio furniture.”

So the children, Jared and Sarah (their two older sibs are now “responsible” enough to supervise themselves at home in Jacksonville), have been going about the serious business of working their fingers to the bone in the garage, practicing the piano, doing homework, and variously being stellar human beings all weekend.

GAME-TIME: Plus there was the epic SCRABBLE contest.

Lacey, Naomi’s longtime friend and our extra daughter, happened over for the afternoon and stayed for “daddy-burgers” and games.

“Hey Lacey,” I asked, “did you know this was a cousin opportunity, or did you just get lucky?”

“I just got lucky,” she said. But we all understand there’s no such thing as luck around Maul Hall, just great timing and God-soaked blessings.

So the Rebekah-Sarah team, and the Lacey-Jared team, went up against team Derek-Scout. The only twist on the rules was that the others used cheating smart phones to help them find both words and definitions. Scout and I went pure.

Fortunately, I got all the good letters.

BUSY BUSY: Today Rebekah put them to work again. And this evening I’m making their favorite buttermilk pancakes. Then, in the morning, we’ll all go to church together.

Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate; just being an extended family and focusing our attention on the simple blessings of a good life.

KINGDOM LIFE: If we want to place a visual clue in mind when we think about what it’s going to take to heal this broken world of ours, we need not look much further than the uncomplicated rhythms of a family life centered around an active community of faith.

And if Jesus were on hand, preparing to teach the people, he might well say, “The Kingdom of God is like this….”

And I’d have to agree – DEREK